


Dust Runner

by LiteratureNerd



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adam doesn't exist in this AU so Blake is happier, Bad Parenting, Drug Addiction, Dust as Drugs, F/F, Faunus still exist, Kali is best mom, Yang is just trying to support her family, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:14:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22478485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteratureNerd/pseuds/LiteratureNerd
Summary: Yang Branwen. Just another unlucky kid on the very low bottom of Vale’s criminal food chain. Living day by day... only the thoughts and memories of a once happier life keep her going somehow.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 10
Kudos: 103





	1. Routine. Living day by day.

**Author's Note:**

> This started with one thought: What if Taiyang never recovered from losing the love of his life twice?
> 
> Before I knew it I started to build a whole new universe around this idea and if I'm being honest, this is kinda an experiment. I'm not an English native speaker, I never tried to write such a long story in English and I'm sure I made a lot of mistakes... but I hope at least some of you will enjoy this.

“Hey blondie, get up.” 

Yang groaned when a boot to the shin woke her up from a restless sleep. “We need you for a run, Vernal says you have ten minutes to get ready.” The teenager didn’t even need to open her eyes to know that the guy currently bothering her was Junior, a tall and bearded man. She had never actually liked Junior that much and while he wasn’t the worst criminal out here, he had a tendency to get too… flirty with her sometimes. At least he didn’t try to actually touch her, nobody in the camp was that stupid. 

Yang stretched and winced when her sore and tired limbs cracked in protest. She shivered from the cold. The warm summer was over and sleeping on the ground with only a thin and dirty blanket was awful. Yang was sure that eventually she’d die from pneumonia. Or at least something similar, she had no idea what kinds of illnesses one could get from sleeping on the cold ground. 

“Urgh, I wish Vernal would stop being such a bitch… always giving me the worst jobs…” She muttered quietly and grabbed her old leather jacket. That thing had clearly seen better times, but it once belonged to her father, Taiyang. While her feelings regarding her old man were conflicted, she still remembered how happy and cheerful he used to be when she was just a little kid. Back when Summer was still with them and they had recently adopted a cute little puppy. Yang wondered if Zwei was still alive.

So yes, the jacket was a bit too big on her but Yang didn’t mind, it was just one of the things that reminded her of a happier life.

Nowadays Yang was just a Dust Runner, meaning she brought packs of the dusty gold from one place to another while trying not to get caught by authorities like the police or the military. Fire Dust, Gravity Dust, whatever dust there is, Yang had carried every kind of it. She hated it, but the pictures she kept under her gauntlet and in her backpack always reminded her why she couldn’t give up. She needed the money for her younger sister. Both Taiyang and Ruby didn’t know what she did for a living or how Yang managed to always send money home.

She immediately tried to get Ruby out of her mind, thinking about the shorter girl right now would just make her sad. She hadn’t seen the younger girl in such a long time… was Ruby even still smaller than her? Summer had been quite small, so it was possible that Ruby would be like her, but there was also the possibility of her inheriting more from Taiyang. 

The teenager sighed… Ruby should be 17 now. Almost an adult, ready to take on the world and probably longing for adventure. Yang on the other hand had seen enough adventure already. She felt ready for retirement as funny as that might sound coming from a 19 year old girl.

So reaching for the black and red bandana, the teenager sighed once more. Black and red. Her mother’s colors. She huffed and tied the worn-out fabric around her neck as if it was scarf. Most members of the tribe wore something related to those colors, a sign for other, smaller gangs to back off and mind their own business. Even the police looked the other way whenever they saw the red and black colors flash before their eyes. Usually it worked, but Yang had to knock out a few teeth every now and then before. Plus the military was extra careful whenever they spotted someone from the Tribe. This was just another reason why being a Dust Runner was so dangerous: since the military increased their patrols it took days to reach Vale from the Mistral Woods. 

After she finished preparing herself for another probably long run, she stepped out of the tent just to be greeted by faint sunshine, though she didn’t like the dark clouds nearby. At least a little bit warmth for now, Yang thought before walking over to the huge tent right in the center of the camp. Unlike common bandits her mother actually lived quite comfortable. 

On the way she noticed other bandits already breaking down the camp. It was fall, so the tribe would soon move back into the city. If she was being honest, then Yang preferred living in one of those run down apartments over the out of town camps. Better than sleeping on the dirt and it was always warmer inside a house than in a tent that had holes in it, though the apartments had the disadvantage that she needed to share her room with several other people. For being Raven’s daughter Yang didn’t really have any advantages or luxuries. She was a Dust Runner – one of the lowest ranks of Vale’s criminal food chain and everyone made sure she didn’t forget that. 

“You got work for me?” Yang didn’t bother being nice. This was her mother’s tent and Raven was not exactly the kind of woman who actually cared about exchanging unimportant pleasantries. 

“Two packs of Fire Dust.” That wasn’t her mother’s voice and the fine hair on Yang’s neck stood at attention. Vernal. Yang hated the older woman with a passion! She was more or less Raven’s personal lapdog, always lurking around closely to the bandit leader. Back when Yang had first shown up Vernal was one of the few people who were against taking Yang in. Since then their already tense relationship hadn’t improved at all. It had only gotten worse.

“Fire Dust? What’s the occasion?” Fire Dust was the most dangerous kind of dust. It was addictive, deadly when used wrong and very hard to produce. Which made it rare – and therefore very expensive. Yang rarely got to handle some of the more dangerous drugs and she was actually grateful for it. 

“None of the other runners is available. So what do you say Branwen? Up for the job?” Vernal’s voice was ice cold yet challenging while Yang felt the fire burning through her veins and blood. The Branwen temper, as her uncle had called it once. She nodded eventually, delivering Fire Dust would mean more money than she usually earned in a whole month.

“Good. Don’t forget what happens when you mess up. The Branwen Tribe doesn’t forget!” Yang returned the glare, both women refusing to look away and only when another lower ranking member of the tribe showed up did their little staring contest finally end. Yang didn’t even know that guy’s name, but she didn’t care. He was maybe her age and handed both packs over. He seemed relieved that he got rid of that dangerous stuff.

“Bring both of them to Torchwick. Usual address. Don’t return to the tribe here but stay in one of the West-Vale hideouts. If there are no questions then get the fuck outta here!” 

Yang hurried outside. She hadn’t talked to Vernal for long, but she was stressed out and if she was being honest, then she wanted a drink. “I’m turning into uncle Qrow…” She smiled fondly at the memory of the old man. Even though her uncle had rarely visited them, back when she still lived on Patch together with her father and sister, she still missed him dearly. He was a smart man and he had seen more than any person should ever have to see. Yang didn’t envy him. She didn’t know the details, but the way he was clutching a lucky charm in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other told a story she probably wasn’t ready to hear. Yang only knew that something happened that had completely changed him and somehow she was sure that both her father and her uncle had experienced the same kind of loss.

Looking at the sky she noticed that the clouds had slowly started to hide the sun. So much for a sunny day, she though bitterly. It was fall, the biting wind made her shiver and now rain would make it even worse. She tried to zip up her leather jacket, but the zipper had broken a long time ago. “Heh, guess uncle Qrow was right… Branwens aren’t blessed with luck.” 

Back in her tent she grabbed the few belongings she owned and started to pack. Her backpack looked just as worn as her leather jacket did, but unlike the jacket the old thing didn’t have any sentimental worth for her. She just couldn’t afford getting a new one. She put the Fire Dust on the bottom on a thin layer of some clean shirts in case she’d need to put it down. Fire Dust was dangerous in its raw form, there was a reason why it was called FIRE Dust. She had seen victims with charred limbs and burned skins… it wasn’t a pretty sight.

She also grabbed some energy bars that would serve as breakfast later and a few personal belongings she didn’t want to leave behind. 

Then Yang was finally ready to leave. There was nobody in the camp she’d want to say goodbye to, so she simply walked out of the camp without looking at anyone. Not even the guards would acknowledge a lowly runner. “Well… here goes nothing.” Mumbled the blonde and started walking towards the city of Vale. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

When you were a Dust Runner for as long as Yang had been, then you started to lose your feeling for time. Days were blending into each other, the only time measurement that truly mattered was the difference between day and night. Yang finally got out of the Mistral Woods when it was already night. Or at least late evening. It had been raining the entire time and the biting wind surely hadn’t made things any easier. But as long as the Dust was fine nobody cared for its runners. It had always been like that and Yang was well aware how little she actually mattered. She shivered and sneezed occasionally, but there was no time to slow down. She needed to reach the village soon, otherwise she’d be too exhausted to keep moving.  
A few kilometers later she finally reached it. The young blonde was shivering even worse than before, feeling as if even her blood was frozen and all she wanted was a warm bed and a hot meal. She hadn’t had either of that in weeks. 

Yang passed countless houses; most of them had little gardens that Yang knew would be blossoming in all kinds of colors as soon as spring would be back. The streetlights made it easier for her to see and she didn’t need to strain her eyes so much anymore. Every now and then, when she passed past an illuminated window she was able to glance inside. Happy families. That was everything she saw.

Children with their parents… or mothers cooking a late dinner while their children fooled around. Those families had no ideas how lucky they were, all Yang had wanted for all her life was to have a family like that. To be able to go to school again, to play with her younger sister, learn things from her dad and help her mother baking cookies. All Yang had ever wanted was a normal childhood, but instead she got a mom that had ran away, a dead stepmother, a depressed father and an alcoholic uncle who was trying his best even though it wasn’t enough. For a long time Ruby had been the only light in her life and Yang was determined to give her the best future possible – even if it meant sacrificing her own. Yang suddenly wanted to cry.

She continued walking down the street until she reached a familiar house. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door, but when there was no reaction she tried to door bell. Maybe the old woman had fixed it by now?

“Who in the Gods’ names is bothering me at a time like this?!” The elderly woman opened the door and stared at Yang. Even with her bad eyes she recognized Yang immediately, probably thanks to the blonde’s golden hair. “Branwen. What are you doing here?” She asked but let the girl in anyway. It was obvious that the girl was freezing. “Damn kid, you’re soaked to the bone. Get out of those clothes before you catch something!”

“I’m sorry Miss Calavera, I’m just… working and I need to go to Vale.” The blonde explained awkwardly before stepping inside and sneezing once again. The older woman knew about the Branwen Tribe and its people, so Yang knew she’d be safe here.

“Call me Maria, if I hear you say Miss Calavera one more time I will give you a taste of my cane! Or a wooden spoon since I have no idea where my cane is right now. Ask your uncle, he knows how much it hurts!” Maria huffed and Yang actually chuckled. She doubted that Maria had ever smacked Qrow, especially considering that she had been threatened herself countless times at this point. Maria was all bark and no bite, though Yang had no doubt that the stories about her youth were all true. Okay, maybe Yang was a little bit scared that Maria would actually beat her butt with a cane.

Maria Calavara was an elderly woman with a wild youth who had later devoted her entire life to the police force. Kind of ironic for a Dust Runner to be friends with a former cop, isn’t it? Qrow had just chuckled when Yang had asked him that question all those years ago. But for Maria – or Grimm Reaper as she had been called by Vale’s bad guys – didn’t only see the criminal in a person. Coming from a poor background herself she had seen a lot of things and many children in similar situations ending up on the streets and later in gangs. She had known the Branwen twins since they were young, but while Raven didn’t trust anybody, Qrow had found someone to look up to in Maria. When she first saw Yang, she had immediately recognized the Branwen genes in Yang… but Maria was old, not stupid. She knew there was more to the tall blonde teenager. Yang wasn’t made for this kind of life, just like her uncle hadn’t been. 

“Out of your dripping clothes and get yourself a blanket, I’m gonna get some leftovers from the fridge and warm them up!” The older woman pointed at her sofa and moved into the kitchen. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Yang mock saluted and flopped down on the old couch after peeling the drenched jacket off her limbs before reaching for a very fluffy blanket. She immediately relaxed and sighed, she hadn’t been this comfortable in weeks and she clearly enjoyed it. 

Maria soon came back with more food Yang had seen in months and immediately she felt her mouth starting to water. No food that was available in the Tribe could ever keep up with Calavara’s home cooked food – and damn, the old woman had some mean cooking tricks up her sleeve despite being barely able to see anything anymore. 

They ate in silence, Maria snacking on a few boiled and very soft potatoes while Yang devoured the meat with sauce, vegetable, eggs and some potatoes. As soon as she finished she suddenly felt just how exhausted she actually was. “Fuck, that was good…” She almost moaned while the older woman smirked. “You are so much like your uncle was when he was years younger, it’s almost scary.” She was silent for a moment as if she was thinking about her next words. “And like your mother as well.” Yang tensed, they usually didn’t talk about Raven. She didn’t say anything, the blonde knew that it was impossible to keep the old Reaper from talking when she was determined to say something.

“Your mother… is a very complicated woman. I don’t agree how she handled you or what she did. Hell, I despite her for what she still does! But your mother… I knew her since she was a young child and while I know you and her don’t look eye to eye, I just want you to know that Raven is just a very scared woman. Just like your uncle she has seen too many things I her life, things that scared her. Qrow deals with things by getting wasted, but Raven… she doesn’t cope. She hides.” 

Yang listened, but she wasn’t sure how to respond to this. “I… I don’t care.” Maria shrugged. “That’s fair. I just wanted you to know. Nobody is perfect and Raven had a good heart, maybe she still does, but the path she chose all those years ago ruined her. I’m simply warning you to be careful. Don’t ignore chances, promise me the moment you spot an opportunity to leave you will.”

“Maria, you know I can’t just lea-“

“Promise. Me.” The usual so carefree woman glared sternly at Yang and suddenly the blonde felt like a scolded child that was caught stealing cookies before dinner. She gulped and nodded. Maria seemed satisfied with that answer. 

Without saying anything she collected the dirty dishes and shuffled back into the kitchen, leaving the teenager alone with her thoughts. Yang had thought about having a normal life so often before… going to school with other kids her age, coming home to a warm family and self-cooked food. Sleeping in a warm bed, having a mother that would wish her a good night…  
Yang sniffled and wiped her eyes. She couldn’t afford to be weak, weak people died in the world she lived in. She was strong, after all Yang was a Branwen.

The next day Yang woke up tired, but at least she wasn’t feeling sore. For such an old couch that thing was sure comfortably and in quite a good condition. Sure, it looked well-loved and the colors were already fading, but Yang would never complain about anything like that. It was comfortable and big enough that she didn’t need to curl up just to fit on it. 

After taking a quick cold shower - nothing in Maria's old house did actually work anymore and the old woman didn't bother to repair anything - she got dressed and grabbed her bag. The only thing bothering her was that her shirt and jacket were still slightly damp, but at least her pants had somewhat dried. “I need no to go. I’m already behind schedule.”

“You will go nowhere without some breakfast and lunch!” The older woman huffed from the kitchen and Yang’s stomach growled as if it was agreeing. Traitor, she mumbled to herself before Maria shoved a bunch of nicely wrapped sandwiches into her arm. “Here, that should make sure you won’t be hungry for a while. Now, get going and make sure you don’t get yourself killed!” She was only half-joking, she knew how short the lives of Dust Runners usually were. Short. Very short. Few even lived long enough to reach her mid-twenties, though Yang had yet to turn even twenty. “And remember, you’re always welcome here. That also applies to your dusty uncle in case you see him.”  
And so Yang was out and on her own. Pulling her jacket closer again she shivered. Maria’s home had been warm, a safe place right in the middle of this cold world.  
“Well… better get going I guess…”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Yang reached Vale two days later. She had finished the last of her food the day prior and her stomach was growling. Not to mention the pounding in her head and the way her lungs seemed to hurt whenever she had to cough. Thanks to an increase in military patrols she had been forced to take a longer route and that obviously had also taken a lot more time. “Torchwick better not rats me out to the Tribe for being late…” The teenager mumbled, being late could easily get her in a lot of trouble depending on whom Torchwick had promised the Fire Dust. Eh, whatever. At least the status as Raven’s daughter protected her enough to not get shot as a punishment. She hoped.

“Hm… Junior’s club shouldn’t be far…” The streets already were familiar to her. She had walked this streets too often at this point to be able to ever forget them ever again. Though since Junior was currently staying with the Tribe she would need to deliver the Dust to Roman Torchwick instead. Yang had never really liked him, he was a weird guy with an even weirder sense of humor. There had been rumors that his actual name was Alex, though Yang wasn’t sure if that was true. She also didn’t care. 

So when she entered the club she was surprised how full it was today. Instinctively she clutched her bag a bit closer. Usually at a time like this it was completely empty except for a few regulars.

“Blondie!” She whirled around and there he was. Roman Torchwick. Oh how she hated how he drawled his words.

“Can we… talk? About business?” 

“Of course blondie, just follow me. But you know the way anyway.”

Why was everyone just calling her blondie? Yang was annoyed at this point, she was so damn more than just her looks. Well at least one good thing she got from her mother. Raven had given Yang her beautiful hair and combined with Taiyang being blonde, the teenager just was absolutely stunning.

As soon as they reached the small secluded office and the door was closed behind them the teenager carefully emptied the bag and showed the older man the Fire Dust. “Count it if you don’t trust me.”

“Oh blondie, of course I’ll count it. And there better not be anything missing!” Yang huffed, the way he talked was simply making her angry at this point. Luckily nothing was missing, Yang wasn’t stupid after all. She would never touch a single gram of that stuff – she had seen more than enough addicts in her life. Their empty eyes and rotten brains, dying covered with their own vomit… she would never become one of those.

“Where’s the money, Torchwick.” Yang had watched the weird guy checking the Dust for a while now, yet he made no move to actually pay. Yang didn’t like this, it made her jumpy and even more aware of her surroundings than usual. She noticed the two girls, the twins, guarding the door and tried to watch all three of them at once. Wait, when had they even entered the room?

Narrowing her eyes she watched Torchwick reaching into his jacket to grab something. Immediately Yang’s hand became fists and she got ready. Though to her surprise, he only held some lien and no weapon. “Good job blondie, perfect condition.” He handed the money over and Yang shoved it into her pocket. She’d need to hand it over at the hideout later. “So, how about some drinks now? This is a club after all, have some fun.”

“You wish.”

The blonde teenager glared at him, this was the last place she’d choose to have a relaxing drink. She just wanted to get to the hideout, get some rest and maybe pray that her head would stop hurting after waking up. 

As soon as she was outside she started to miss how warm it had been inside the club. The rain felt even colder than before, she shivered yet Yang was feeling like she was burning up. She sneezed once and a few seconds later again which caused her to pull the jacket tighter around herself. Just why was it already so cold… 

After she finally got herself moving again she walked all the way to the Vale downtown hideout; an old apartment complex that had seen better times and it was smaller than their West-Vale headquarter. Real tenants hadn’t lived here in a long time and the tribe had simply claimed it after getting rid of the homeless people, humans and faunus alike, who had slept here. The walls were painted by nameless artists in all kind of colors, some fading, some fresh. Pictures, letters, random scribbles… it was walls like this that told the real story of a city. About its crime and lower classes. About the people that were like Yang. No future or actual goal. Just living day by day and they were fine with that.

Walking up the stairs she didn’t even flinch at the awful stench that just didn’t go away. It smelled like someone died here – maybe someone did. Yang wouldn’t be surprised, she knew how the Branwen tribe handled certain affairs. She knew because she was one of them, because her mother had made her watch things she had never wanted to see. But Yang could handle it, she was a Branwen herself after all. She had the Branwen eyes, the Branwen blood. She was strong.

Knock. Knockknock. Knock.

Using the code she waited for someone to open. “Who issit?!” A guy with short hair opened and Yang barely kept herself from rolling her eyes. Cardin Winchester. She hated his guts, he was an absolute idiot who had tried to sleep with her several times now. Yang wasn’t interested and made sure to show it. Cardin never got the hint though and just kept trying. “Cut it out, Winchester. It’s me.” She huffed and shoved past him into the apartment. Were her senses tricking her or did it smell even worse in here than outside? 

“Look who’s back in town, the boss’ daughter.” 

Mercury Black. Of course he’d be here as well. If Yang was honest a lot about him rubbed her the wrong way. She didn’t know a lot about Mercury, but she had heard stories about his father, Marcus Black. And she knew that Mercury had killed him. 

“Don’t annoy me, Black. I just wanna get some sleep.” She huffed and Mercury went back to playing with one of his knives. It was almost funny, he never used them in a fight, yet he had a huge collection of them. Well, at least Tyrian wasn’t here as well. In the dictionary next to the word insanity there was a picture of Tyrian Callows. Probably, Yang had never checked. 

After handing over the Dust money Yang found an empty room. She was lucky. As a Dust Runner she was at the bottom of the food chain, but since only Winchester and Black were currently here she could use an entire room to herself. There wasn’t a mattress though and the teenager sighed. Still warmer than the bandit camp in the Mistral Woods. 

Shivering the girl grabbed some rags that would function as a blanket and leaned against the wall far away from the window. It wasn’t broken, but she could still feel the fresh air getting inside. Shivering Yang sneezed, and immediately she sneezed a second time. Though despite the cold she still felt warm. Reaching for her backpack she pulled out an old photo out pressed it against her chest. “Ruby…” She whimpered and felt her eyes getting wet. There was no way she’d allow herself to cry while Mercury and Cardin were literally in the next room. She was a Branwen, gods dammit! She just wanted to allow herself a moment of weakness, plus her head was hurting even worse than earlier.

Curling up into a tiny ball she tried to get some sleep. Only a few hours later she woke up shivering while simultaneously burning up. Then a sudden wave of nausea hit her like a punch to the stomach. Without the energy to get up all she managed to do was to get on all fours to throw up whatever sorry excuse for a meal she had in the last hours. Gasping for air she looked at the mess in front of her. She was cold, then why was it so hot? Her arms were trembling, barely able to keep her up while her stomach felt sick again. Only fluids came up though. “Fuck!” She hissed and considered herself lucky that her hair hadn’t been in the way. 

“The fuck is going on here, Branwen! It’s the middle of the fucking night!” Cardin had almost kicked down the door and Mercury looked annoyed. Apparently she had been louder than she thought she had been. Coughing up more bile Cardin looked disgusted while Mercury seemed amused. “You’re sick! Get the fuck out of here, you know the rules!” Yelled the former while Yang tried to glare at him. She felt too weak to even speak. 

“Get her out of here, Black!” But he just shrugged. “Eh, don’t wanna. I don’t care about this!” 

Yang had thought Cardin wouldn’t have the guts to do something like this, but he actually threw her out. So the blonde teenager found herself outside the door. “Urgh…” At least he had also thrown her backpack out as well. 

“Get out of the fucking house!” Winchester yelled through the door and Yang held her pounding head. Had there always been two doors? Wait, why did she suddenly have two left hands? Burning up with a sick stomach and a pounding headache Yang somehow managed to drag, or more like crawl, herself down the stairs. The sun was slowly getting up again, but Yang didn’t care. Had it really taken her that long to get outside? Or had she passed out for a while without noticing? 

Next to a few trashcans she fell down again, she had absolutely no energy left anymore. People passed by, but nobody bothered to even glance at her a second time. To them Yang was just another dust addict. Worthless. Someone they didn’t care about. The blonde didn’t mind, she was too weak to keep fighting. She was a Branwen… but she didn’t care if she died this pathetically on a dirty street between some trashcans. 

But then…

“Mom! Hurry, there’s a… girl?!”

Who was that? Yang couldn’t open her eyes anymore. Too exhausted.

“Oh my, this looks bad!”

Another voice?

“We-“

Then there was nothing, no questions, no sound, no colors… Everything was just black.


	2. Recovering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang finally has the chance to relax and get her strength back. She also gets to know the two women who found her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly wish I was a better writer. Writing in a language that's not your native language is rather hard... especially syntax and grammar. Well, I hope at least a few people enjoy it.

It took a while for Yang to wake up again. Everything was spinning, even with her eyes closed, and she was feeling hot. But at least the biting, unforgiving cold was gone? 

“Hn…,” She groaned and tried to get up, but her muscles were too weak and sore to even think about supporting her weight. 

“Mom! She’s waking up!” Yang tried to force her eyes to open, but everything was too bright and the loud voice wasn’t helping with her pounding head. Suddenly someone touched her forehead. She flinched, but moving hurt too much and the hand was cold and rather small. Yang could tell it belonged to someone who had fighting experience, she could feel that the skin was slightly calloused. “It’s okay, you’re safe here. You need to rest, so don’t strain yourself too much.” The voice was different, older sounding and that meant there were at least two people here with her. Possible more. 

“Wh-…” But the blonde couldn’t speak, her throat was drier than Vacuo in summer and only now did she actually realize how thirsty she was. The woman who sounded older removed her hand and a few seconds later Yang was holding a cup with liquid in her slightly shaking hands. “Drink, it’s tea with a bit of freshly peeled ginger and honey. You were out for a while and your body is very weak.” 

Under different circumstances Yang wouldn’t have tried this drink, after all it could be poisonous. But she was too exhausted to fight so she took a few small sips and immediately started coughing violently. Her empty stomach complained and everything just hurt so much. “Oww…,” She whimpered almost pathetically before forcing herself to drink at least a little bit. 

Then she finally opened her eyes. Her initial guess was right, there were two women. The older one who had just given her the tea, and a younger girl who was maybe the same age as Yang. The thing that surprised the teen was the fact that both of them were faunus, there were two cute kitty ears on each of their heads, so Yang guessed they were related. Maybe mother and daughter?

“Your fever is still very high, but we managed to get it down for now.” The older one started talking with such a calm, soothing voice that Yang almost fell asleep again. The only reason she managed to stay awake was because of how sad she also sounded. “We tried… taking you to a hospital, but they refused to take you in…” Yang nodded weakly, that was not unexpected. She looked like a typical lower member of the Branwen Tribe thanks to her clothes and bandana. People didn’t want to get involved with stuff like that – not even hospitals. 

That did raise a few question though… why had those two women taken her in then? Yang narrowed her eyes and curled up into herself, suddenly she didn’t trust them anymore. Outside of the Tribe not a lot of people knew that Yang was actually Raven’s daughter and even some bandit members weren’t exactly sure of their relationship. But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t a suitable target to get back to Raven. Yang wasn’t even sure whether her mother would actually care if she got hurt because of her or not.

“Oh girl… what have you seen.” The older woman’s feline ears flattened slightly when she noticed that the blonde was getting defensive all of a sudden. “You don’t need to fear us, we’re faunus right activists. I don’t care ‘why’ or ‘how’ you ended up on the streets between those trash cans, but you’re not an addict, that’s obvious. I don’t know your story, but that doesn’t matter right now. Right now it only matters that you get healthy again. So please drink some more.” She suddenly turned her head to look at the other teenager in the room who had been awfully quiet the entire time. “Blake, please get another wet towel and maybe some pills for her fever.” The girl, Blake, nodded once and left. 

Yang slowly managed to finish the tea and laid down again. She didn’t have the energy to stay upright any longer but at least her throat wasn’t feeling painfully dry anymore. “I’m Kali by the way. And as you just heard, that was Blake. She’s my daughter and also the one who found you.” So her name was Kali. A nice name, thought Yang and rested her eyes a bit since the light was still a bit painful. She knew that she would need to stay awake to take the medicine though, but there was nothing wrong about resting for a bit. 

A few moments later Blake was back and Kali carefully helped Yang up to take the pills. “Now rest a bit. If you need anything at all please tell us, we want to help you.” The blonde nodded weakly before passing out again. Her body seriously needed all the rest it could get – plus it was great to sleep in an actual bed for once! The sheets were soft, the blanket was warm and the pillow was just the perfect size!  
It was almost ironic: Despite being so sick, Yang felt … good.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

The next time Yang woke up she actually felt a lot better. It was even possible now for her to open her eyes without getting a horrible headache. So she carefully looked around and took in the room for the first time. She had expected that she was in some kind of hotel room, but instead she seemed to be in a normal room in a normal house. Probably a guest room by the looks of it. There were some bookshelves, a desk with a chair and a big wooden closet. Yang figured that the owner of this house was anything but poor. When she compared it with the Xiao Long-Rose house back on Patch then their living-room and kitchen would both fit into this single room.

She also noticed that Kali wasn’t here, but the girl, Blake if she remembered right, was sitting on a comfortable looking chair and reading a book. Yang couldn’t make out the title from her position, but judging by the way her ears flicked and twitched it was probably rather interesting. 

“Are you ok?”

The blonde flinched, she hadn’t expected Blake to notice her. Was it a faunus thing? She had heard that their senses were incredible and easily surpassing human senses, though she didn’t know a lot of faunus. And Callows was a special case anyway. Blake had four ears in total, so maybe she could hear with all four of them? Yang made a mental note to ask that eventually.

“I’m… feeling a lot better.” She answered eventually and it was true. While she still felt warm and sweaty and her throat was rather dry, she at least didn’t feel like she was actually dying anymore. The girl with the black hair nodded. “Glad to hear that, you were out for a while and mom was very worried about you. We barely managed to get your fever down.”

Yang wasn’t sure what else to say, so she simply mumbled a quiet thank you. Blake’s ears twitched, so the blonde was sure she had understood her. “I… I need to go though. I need to work.” But trying to get up turned out to be a huge mistake! Suddenly the room started spinning again and every muscle and every bone in her body seemed to scream at her to lay down again.

“Wow, are you stupid?” Blake had gotten up from her chair and stood in front of the slightly taller girl. “You’re far too sick to even get up, not to mention to work!” But Yang glared at her. “No choice, I need to work!” She tried to get past the feline faunus, but Blake simply pushed her down on the bed with one hand. It wasn’t even hard, right now Yang was no match for her. “No, you are staying here. So either you listen to me or I’ll call my mom to make sure you stay in bed!” 

Yang wanted to argue, but even getting up had been far too exhausting. So she decided to listen and stayed and bed. “But… I need the money…” She mumbled weakly to no one in particular. “They rely on me… they need me…” Blake worriedly placed one hand on Yang’s forehead. The blonde was still unnaturally warm and right now it was only the fever talking. 

“I understand… but for now just rest. Your body needs it, you can go back to work after you recovered. I promise.” But Yang had already fallen asleep again and therefore hadn’t heard the rest of Blake’s words. The faunus’ ears flattened against her head, considering the place they had found Yang she worried just what kind of job she had.

.-.-.-.-.-.- 

“I hope you’re hungry.” Kali placed a big bowl with some steaming stew right in front of Yang. The blonde’s mouth watered in anticipation, it smelled incredible good and she was basically starving. She quickly grabbed the bowl and started to wolf down the food even though it was still hot. “Oh dear, please don’t forget to chew.” The older feline faunus chuckled but Yang ignored her. Food first, everything else afterwards. 

Yang had emptied the bowl in no time and after wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she flopped down on the bed again and sighed. “That was awesome!” She couldn’t remember the last time her stomach had been this full. Probably when she stayed at Maria’s house, but before that? Her thoughts were interrupted then.

“I’m glad you liked it. If you want some more, there is plenty left.” She said before placing one hand on Yang’s forehead. She hummed happily when Yang’s body temperature seemed to be getting closer to normal. “Hmm, you’re almost recovered I’d say. Though it will take some time until your body will get back its strength, you were awfully thin when we found you.” Yang wasn’t surprised, there wasn’t a lot of food available in the tribe and she was sure that Vernal shortened her rations on purpose whenever she had the chance. Just to spite her.

“I don’t really understand…” Kali hadn’t left her side and while the silence hadn’t been uncomfortable, it somehow got Yang thinking. “I mean, why did you take me in? You must have… recognized my clothes.”

“Isn’t it obvious? You are a kid who was in need of help. Of course Blake and I had to help you.”

“Hm.” A kid. Yang hadn’t felt like one in a long time. One stopped feeling young when you became a dust runner to support your younger sister and depressed father.

“And since you are feeling better, would you mind telling me some things about yourself?” Of course Kali noticed the way the blonde girl flinched at that question, but she really needed some answers. “Like what’s your name? How old are you?”

Yang took a deep breath. “I’m Yang. Yang Branwen. And I’m 19 years old.” She said and was surprised when just saying the name Branwen filled her with disgust. The way the older woman suddenly stared at her was a bit unnerving, but she didn’t seem too surprised with her answers. 

“Please don’t lie to me, girl.”

“Huh?” Yang looked up in confusion, golden eyes seemed to stare right into her soul. “What do you mean?”

“Oh… Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Wow, not cryptic or anything at all. “You’ll understand eventually. Just ignore what I said.” Okay, now this was getting kind of creepy? 

“And just so you know, you’re not a prisoner here and you can leave whenever you want. But I don’t recommend it. You’re far too weak and you’d probably break down again as soon as you walked for a few minutes. So please stay here, it’s warm and we have more than enough food to make sure you get your strength back. And if you feel lonely I’m sure Blake would be happy to keep you company.”

“I… thank you.” Kali nodded and smiled gently. Yang blushed, the older woman had something so… motherly. A concept so foreign for Yang that she wasn’t sure how to deal with it. Raven wasn’t exactly mother of the year material and Summer… Summer had been dead for such a long time that Yang barely remembered what she had been like. What it had been like to have a caring mother in her life. Someone who would watch over her, stroke her hair after a long day and suddenly everything would be alright again.

“Um, one more thing?” Kali’s ears perked up and Yang had to admit that was kind of adorable. She wondered if Blake’s ears were just as expressive and whether it was a general faunus behavior or not. 

“Yes, dear?”

“Would it uh… possible for me to take a shower?” Yang asked hesitantly and the older woman smiled kindly which put the teenager at ease almost immediately. “Of course. We have an extra bathroom with both a shower and a bathtub. I’ll get you some towels and fresh clothes.” The teenager nodded and allowed herself to smile as well.

“Can I maybe just get my clothes back instead?”

“Well, I washed them and they are clean… though I think they’re rather uncomfortable and they won’t be very helpful while you’re still resting. I can bring them to your room though, that way you can see that we haven’t sold them.” Kali joked and Yang had to smile. As if someone would want to buy a dirty, broken old leather jacket. 

“Oh that reminds me! When I washed your jacket I noticed the zipper is broken… do you want me to fix it?” Kali asked gently and went to the closet where she had put Yang’s clothes and things. She grabbed it and handed the old jacket over. 

Yang fondly held the jacket close to her chest. “No, it’s okay. I don’t know why, but I guess it’s fine like this.” No lie, she had no idea why she refused to let Kali repair the zipper.

“Tell me if you change your mind. And now feel free to enjoy your shower.”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

When Yang eventually entered the huge bathroom, her jaw met the floor. This was incredible, just how rich was this family? First that fancy guest room and now this bathroom? Decorations, fluffy carpets on the floor, countless soaps and shampoos, even perfume. Though judging by the way how full they still were, none of the people living here used them regularly. The blonde had grown up poor, even during her early childhood money had been tight and then after Summer’s death and Taiyang’s depression… But this, this was incredible. Yang almost didn’t dare to touch anything in fear of breaking something. 

She spotted two towels Kali had gotten for her and she rubbed her fabric between her thumb and index finger. Again, wow! Yang had never seen such soft and fluffy towels before, they almost made her wish they were blankets instead. It probably felt great to curl up under a warm blanket like that and to fall asleep… feeling warm and comfortable.

“Oh, this is life!” Yang had carelessly thrown her clothes on the floor and was now enjoying her hot shower. 

The hot water was running through her hair, cleaning if of all kind of dirt and dust for the first time since her stay at Maria’s. Maria’s house barely had hot water since it was so old and she never bothered to repair anything that broke. So at this point nothing in that old house really worked anymore but this… this shower was heaven. The water wasn’t just warm, it was hot even! The teenager stood under the stream for what felt for ages. 

She was almost ashamed after seeing just how dirty she had actually been, plus she had been very sweaty thanks to the high fever. Sure, she always tried to stay as clean as possible and she was one of the few people in the tribe who regularly washed themselves, but still there was only so much one could do. Yang also knew that taking such a hot shower while still being sick was probably far from a good idea, but she couldn’t help it, it just felt so damn good. 

Cleaning her hair was the worst part, after being bedridden for days the strands were knotted and tangled into one big mass. Yang would need to be careful when she brushed them later, otherwise this would hurt a damn lot. 

Eventually she had to leave the safety the shower had to offer, so she turned off the water and grabbed a purple towel with black and golden edges. And damn, even though she had that already noticed earlier - that thing was fluffy! Not scratchy like those old towels they used to have in her father’s house, no, those towels were soft and fluffy enough to be used as blankets. 

When she left the bathroom, she almost ran into Blake. Literally. “Oh sorry!” The faunus yelped and luckily she didn’t spill any of her still steaming tea. 

“It’s ok-“ The faunus looked up and after seeing Yang cleaned up like this for the first time, her jaw almost dropped. Her blonde hair seemed to glow like the sun itself and a few loose strands were falling into her face thanks to still being wet. Blake’s brain simple short-circuited and there were no better words to describe the other teen than ‘damn, she hot’. 

“Uh, sure you’re okay? You’re kinda staring? Did I miss a spot or do I still have shampoo in my hair?” The blonde joked and patted her own head as if she was looking for something. The faunus shook her head, mouth still slightly opened. 

For a few moments neither of them moved or said anything, and while it wasn’t exactly awkward, it was significantly getting weirder with each passing second. “I’m gonna get some more rest… I feel a lot better, but my legs still feel a bit shaky whenever I’m up.”

Blake nodded. “I could join you. Just made some tea and it’s not like I have anything to do right now.”

So while Yang got comfortable in bed, Blake decided to use one of the chairs instead. They were quiet again, just enjoying each other’s company in silence. Occasionally the blonde could hear Blake sipping her tea, but that was it. And suddenly she realized that this was the first time they were actually spending time together. 

“So… are you and your mom able to hear with all of your ears? Or only one set?” And here was the proof that the blonde hadn’t spent a lot of time among faunus. Under normal circumstances Blake would’ve been offended by a question like this from a human, the teenager and her parents were activists for a reason after all. But Yang was asking her in such an innocent way that she actually had to chuckle.

Those aren’t just for show.” She wriggled both her kitty ears and for a second it almost looked like the blonde’s eyes were sparkling. But who could blame her, those little furry appendages were incredibly cute and soft looking! “I can actually hear a lot better than any human. Though that also means traffic and other loud noises is stressing me out a lot easier.” Yang nodded, that made sense. Well, kind of. She wasn’t a faunus so it was not that she actually understood anything about being a different race. 

“So Yāng… tell me a bit about yourself.”

“It’s Yáng.”

“Hm?” The faunus tilted her head.

“My name. It’s actually pronounced Yáng. The stress is a little bit different.” 

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry, Yang.” This time she got it right and the bright smile the blonde showed her rivaled the warm July sun. 

Even though she was still coughing and looked rather tired, Yang had recovered well and now that she had showered, it was almost as if she was a complete new human. 

“There’s not a lot to talk about.” The blonde shrugged. “I’m usually living outside of Vale, but… ‘work’ forces me to travel here every now and then. I like to read when I find a good book, especially when I can curl up in a warm spot with an even warmer blanket. I also enjoy training and learning different fighting techniques, though I guess I’m usually more of a freestyle kinda person.” 

Blake perked up when Yang mentioned that she liked reading. “Reading? What kind of books do you like?” 

Another shrug. “Hope you won’t laugh, but I still enjoy reading fairy tales. Or books that reinterpret fairy tales so they fit into our time. Heck, I’d read a book about Little Red Riding Hood hunting monsters with a giant scythe! Other than that I don’t think I have a preferred genre, but I want it to have a happy ending.” What she left out was that she barely had an opportunity to read anything at all. Bandit camps weren’t exactly known for having big fancy libraries and the fact that she was a school dropout didn’t help either. 

But Blake’s eyes were still sparkling. “I would have never guessed you were a book person! I need to show you some of my favorites!” The faunus was gone faster than Yang could say ‘cool, I’d like that’. 

“Here, you will probably love this! It’s called ‘The man with Two Souls’, it’s one of my absolute favorite books. The title basically tells you what it’s about, a man with two souls and each of them are fighting over control.” And wow, she had returned just as quickly.

Yang suddenly felt her lilac eyes flicker red. Blake didn’t notice, but Yang tensed. Two souls. Being two different people in one body. It sounded oddly familiar to the teenager. 

Suddenly she felt so very tired.

“Hey Blake?” Even her smile seemed to be tired now. “I uh… I suddenly feel very sleepy and I hope I’m not being rude, but is it okay if I rest for a bit?” 

Blake stood up and gently touched the other girl’s forehead with her palm. Yang barely remembered such a gentle touch before meeting the Belladonnas. Had her mother ever touched her like this? Would she ever take care of her like Kali had? Prepare and bring her some food? Giving her a wet towel to help cool down the fever? Yang didn’t think so and at this point the teenager didn’t expect her to do that anyway. 

“You’re still a bit warm, maybe taking such a long and hot shower wasn’t a good idea…” Blake muttered and Yang was sure that she wasn’t actually talking to her. “So yeah, resting sounds like a good idea. If you don’t mind then I’ll just stay here and read a bit?” 

Yang shook her head, she didn’t mind at all and placed the book Blake had recommended next to her on a small wooden nightstand. She watched the faunus retreating back to her chair to get comfortable and Yang curled up with her blanket. She hadn’t noticed just how tired she actually was so she fell asleep quickly.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The next time she woke up she felt even better. Heh, Yang was starting to recognize a pattern. She quickly scanned the room and Blake wasn’t here, though since she had left the book she had been reading earlier, she couldn’t have been gone for long. The window was open now, the air had cooled down and it was getting dark outside. So it was already evening, Yang had slept longer than she had thought she would. But she trusted her body to know what it was doing and what it needed. 

She felt a bit hungry, so after stretching and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes the blonde decided to get up and hunt for some food. She quietly walked into the direction she presumed to find the kitchen and after her second wrong door, she actually found it. If she had just listened to the soft voices talking she would have been able to find it a bit sooner. Yang’s brain was probably just still asleep.

“Oh, you’re up? Is everything alright?” Kali’s ears had perked up after Yang entered the rather big kitchen. It looked lived-in and well-used, but nothing here was dirty or looking too old. Seriously, was every room in this house perfect?

“Uh… I’m a bit… hungry?” Yang sounded surprisingly shy now that both faunus were looking at her. After hearing that Kali immediately jumped into action and Yang felt even more uncomfortable. “Oh dear. I still have some of the stew, I think your stomach handled it well. Do you want some?” The blonde nodded and gave the older woman another shy smile. Yang was able to handle criminals, but dealing with a well-meaning mother? That was new to the teenager.

“Yes, please.”

After a hearty meal both Blake and Yang were back in the guest room, Yang snuggled into the blanket and Blake sitting at the foot of the bed. Both girls weren’t tired, Yang had slept most of the day and she was feeling significantly better and Blake… Blake was a night-person anyway. 

They had mainly talked about books and while it was a topic especially Blake could talk about forever, they wanted to do something different. 

“We could watch a movie?” The cat faunus suggested and the blonde shrugged. It didn’t sound like a bad idea and it had been a while since she had been last able to enjoy a movie. “Sure, why not.” She tried to not sound too excited.

“I have a small TV in my room, we could watch there. Plus I have a really big and very fluffy blanket.” That sold the deal, a fluffy blanket was even better than the towels from earlier.

Then she had another realization. Even though Yang had been staying with the small faunus family for several days now, she had never seen Blake’s room. So far she also hadn’t met Blake’s father, but apparently he was currently just very busy. She had seen pictures of him though since there were a few family pictures in the living-room.

“Woah…” Blake’s room was basically as big as her old room she used to share with Ruby and Taiyang’s bedroom! On the other hand, what had she expected? This family was loaded, their entire house was huge! Though it was lacking typical rich people stuff… like… useless decorations such as expensive paintings. This family was rich, but money didn’t seem to mean a lot here. In Yang’s world money meant everything and a human life meant nothing.

The blonde looked around, there was a big bed in one of the corners next to the window and the TV was positioned in a way that made it possible to watch comfortably while lying down. There was also a desk and a huge shelf with books. 

“Woah, the library on Patch has less books than you!” Okay, now Yang was exaggerating, but Blake’s collection was impressive. The faunus blushed. “Thanks… paid them with my job, I work part-time in Tukson’s Bookstore.” Yang nodded as if she had heard of that store. Maybe she had.

Yang then took in the rest of the room, one wall was completely covered with two huge flags and several posters. One was a flag of the White Fang, the other was the bisexual flag. 

Raising one eyebrow the blonde nodded at the pink and purple flag and Blake shrugged. Apparently the faunus made no secret of her sexuality and if she was this open, then her parents probably didn’t mind it either. Nice. 

“So… what do you wanna watch?” Yang asked curiously before coughing once. Sure, she was feeling better but she wasn’t completely recovered yet. 

Blake pulled out a DVD box and showed it to her. “I was thinking about this one. Or have you ever seen The Beauty and the Dragon before?” 

“Well, I read the book – though I’ve never seen the movie.”

So it was settled. Blake quickly went downstairs to get some extra pillows from the couch, then the two girls started to get comfortable on the bed. Yang was wrapped in the fluffy warm blanket the faunus had used to bait her and Blake was keeping herself warm with a thin blanket that was usually lying in a closet.

The movie was better than Yang had expected it to be and to her surprise, something had changed in her way of thinking. During her childhood she had always identified with the Beauty. Enjoying books and looking nice. But now… now she saw more and more of herself in the Dragon. The way it struggled with its own identity, the struggle between being human and monster… 

Yet, no matter how fascinating this movie was, Yang couldn’t stop glancing at Blake every few moments. The way the faunus’ eyes were glued to the TV and how her ears twitched whenever something exciting happened… the way they perked up when things got romantic and then they flattened during sad scenes. It was cute. And Blake didn’t seem to mind who Yang was. A nobody, a low life… she simply didn’t seem to care?

“This is the best scene…” Blake was almost whispering, she was worried she’d ruin the mood otherwise. Without actively noticing she shifted closer to Yang and the blonde rested her head against the shorter girl’s as they watched the golden Dragon finally getting back its human form. “This always makes me wanna cry…” And Blake actually sounded like she was sniffling a bit. 

“Yeah… it’s just… beautiful…” Yang agreed and yawned. She was sleepy again and since she was more than just comfortable, she simply fell asleep while still leaning against the faunus. For once she didn’t dream about her life, about the things she had seen. She dreamed about being warm and happy… and it felt good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hope you liked it despite no native speaker reading this before I posted it =)  
> please inform me of mistakes you found in the comments! Or just leave a comment in general, I love getting them.


	3. To get away from it all. Even if it's just for a few hours.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang is finally feeling better and ready to leave again. Luckily it's not a goodbye forever - In fact it's only a goodbye for a few days.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy this chapter, it took me a while to finish it thanks to real life kicking my ass earlier this year.

A few days later when Yang finally felt healthy enough to leave the house again, going outside was like entering a new, foreign world. The weather was steadily getting colder and many trees had lost most of their leaves already. It seemed like winter would come early this year. Yang shivered just thinking about how many countless days and weeks she had spent curled up on the freezing floor desperately trying to stay warm. 

“Don’t be a stranger.” Kali stood in the door, Blake next to her. Both their ears were slightly flattened and Yang felt her heart warming at the fact that those two genuinely cared so much about her. The blonde turned her head to give them a kind smile while she adjusted her gauntlets. She hadn’t worn them since the two faunus had found her sick like a stray dog between those trash cans. 

“I won’t! But I just can’t stay any longer, I need to… work.” The word almost made her sick. Yang had tried countless times to get a normal job, but she had never finished school, she didn’t have any papers or ways to identify herself and to support her family she needed more money than the jobs she could get would pay. Working as a Dust Runner was her only option, and she hated it.

People like Blake had it easier, she had loving parents, there was always enough money for food and to keep the house warm and she could afford to get the best education she wanted. But Yang would never hate the smaller cat faunus for something like this. Sure, as a kid Yang had been angry; angry at the world and everyone in it. But as she had grown older that anger slowly left and now she was only feeling sadness. And she was tired. This world wasn’t fair, as her uncle would say. Some people could have anything they want but they push it away, and some people lose everything before they ever have anything. Qrow used to say a lot of things like that, especially when he was drunk.  
It had also taken many years for her to understand that ‘having it easier’ didn’t mean ‘perfect’. Blake and her family were faunus and there were still so many people who considered faunus to be second class citizens. Or even animals. In Yang’s eyes everyone was the same as long their hearts were good, but everyone else was just trash no matter their background. Sometimes Yang wondered what her life would’ve been like if she had been born a faunus instead.

After walking a few meters she suddenly noticed one thing: her backpack felt significantly lighter now that she had regained most of her strength - she even got some more meat on her ribs even though she hadn’t stayed with the Belladonnas for that long. 

Yang actually… looked good right now, still a bit too skinny but a lot happier and stronger than only a few days ago. Impressive what a few days of rest and a non-toxic environment could do to one’s soul.

After saying her goodbyes she wandered around aimlessly, not sure whether she should go back to the rest of the tribe immediately or not. By now she was sure that everybody thought she died or something, briefly Yang wondered if her mother, Raven, had heard those rumors as well. 

Well, at least now she felt well enough to kick Cardin’s ass for literally throwing her out like that. Or maybe she should thank him instead, without Cardin Yang wouldn’t have met the Belladonnas after all. No, kicking his ass sounded a lot better.

After the blonde reached the same dirty hideout, she wasn’t sure whether she should feel disappointed or not. Apparently nobody had cared about her disappearance at all. On the other hand, why should they? Sure, she was Raven’s daughter, but she was also just a nobody in the tribe itself.

Raven didn’t favor anyone, not her own men, not her brother, not her lover… not her own daughter. Raven only knew herself. Yang sighed, after spending so much time with Kali, the blonde missed Summer even more than usual. If Summer were still in her life then Yang would be able to relax and take it easy. Her biggest worries would be either school or university related; there’d be always food on the table and maybe even cookies. The blonde still remembered how much her younger sister used to love them. Yang, to her own surprise, still remembered the recipe as if Summer had taught her how to make them only yesterday. 

Another sigh and her hand rested on her other gauntlet. She still wore Ruby’s picture close to her, right at her pulse point to remind her why she was doing all of this. For Ruby. Not for her father or her mother. Only for Ruby.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Look who’s returned. Didn’t think you’d make it back, Branwen.” Cardin’s voice was as obnoxious and loud as always. Yang ignored him, she didn’t even glance in his direction while she looked for a more or less secluded spot. By now the hideout was rather crammed, a few people were lying on the floor and sleeping, a different group was playing a card game Yang didn’t recognize and the rest was just minding their own business. It smelled like cigarette smoke and cheap alcohol, her uncle Qrow usually smelled the same. 

This was her life, the blonde reminded herself. This was what she came home to after a long day on the street. Hugging her backpack close to her chest she sat down and leaned against the wall. It was rather cold, but not as bad as a few days ago. Her clothes still smelled nice after Kali had washed them for her and it helped her to ignore the awful stench that surrounded her here. 

It took her a while, but eventually Yang fell asleep. She wasn’t exhausted or anything, but just being here made her feel so incredibly mentally tired. After deciding to rest her eyes for a little bit, it didn’t take long for Yang to actually fall asleep. 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

An entire week passed until the blonde finally found the courage to visit the Belladonnas again. She had even tried to wash up as much as possible - considering her only options were either that rundown bathroom at the hideout or the public restrooms at the nearby train station. At least she had gotten rid of the smell of sweat that often seemed to cling to her when she was working. Just an awful mix of fear, anxiety, hate,… all mixed together with sweat. If she ever got her own place Yang absolutely wanted a nice, big shower with water that was always warm. 

From her last pay she also bought some nice deodorant, she just hoped Blake would like this kind of smell. After all she had heard that faunus senses were very sensitive.

But that was not the only thing she got, Yang hadmhad used some of her last payment to buy some flowers at the local market. The blonde had no idea what the name of those flowers were – Summer probably would’ve known – but all that mattered to Yang was that they looked pretty and not too cheap. And that they did. 

“Yes?” It was Kali who curiously opened the door and for a second Yang was relieved that it hadn’t been Blake. Talking to Kali was a lot different from talking to the younger cat faunus. Yang wasn’t stupid, she knew what attraction felt like and it wasn’t hard to tell that she was absolutely smitten by Blake – but that didn’t mean she knew how to act on those feelings. Yang was just a huge disaster whenever romance was involved.

“Oh Yang, it’s you!” The older faunus’ ears twitched in excitement and her voice sounded a lot friendlier now that she had recognized the rather tall blonde teenager standing in front of her. “Come in come in. I told you to not be a stranger. Do you want something to drink? Or would you rather have a little snack? I can easily prepare something, just tell me what you’d like to eat.” 

Yang felt completely overwhelmed. Just like during her longer stay here while she had been sick it was hard to adjust to suddenly having a motherly person around her who actually cared about her well-being. 

“Thank you, but maybe later? Is Blake here?” The blonde smiled and rubbed the back of her head, barely able to hide just how excited she was about the chance to see Blake. Kali just nodded and tried to ignore the beautiful flowers the teenager was holding. Though the sight of them did cause her to smile. “She’s in her room and reading.” The blonde quickly removed her shoes and walked over to Blake’s room and after taking a deep breath, she knocked on the heavy door. 

“Yeah?” The faunus sounded a bit confused and instead of answering, Yang opened the door and entered. “Heya Blakey!” She greeted and the other girl’s eyes lit up immediately while her ears perked up. “Yang, what are you doing here? I didn’t expect you to come over.” By the excitement in her voice it was obvious that Blake didn’t mind the blonde’s sudden visit.

“I don’t need to work today, so I thought we could hang out? You and your mom did say I can come over whenever I want. So I did.” The taller girl shrugged awkwardly but didn’t stop smiling. “Anyway, your mom said you’re reading? What are you reading?” She was now fiddling a little bit with the flower as if she wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to do with them. 

To Yang’s surprise the cat faunus suddenly started blushing and Yang forgot about the flowers. “Oh? Reading something interesting?” Yang smirked when Blake started blushing even harder now. “Not that interesting… yet. I just started the newest novel of the Ninjas of Love series. It was only released yesterday.” 

She expected the blonde to tease her for her taste in rather trashy romance novels, but to her surprise Yang just kept smiling. “If it’s any good and you’re done you should let me read it. Maybe I’ll like it, too.”

Blake nodded.

“So, what do you wanna do? I don’t really had any plans for today, but maybe we can think of something?”

“Eh, I’m not too sure, as long as we spend time together I’m honestly fine with literally anything.” Yang shrugged again. “So we could stay in… or take a walk? It is rather cold today though…”

Blake chuckled since the blonde had started to ramble in an adorable way. “Yang, it’s okay. I’m fine with just staying in and maybe watching a movie? Or playing some games, though I’m rather bad at those and I don’t have too many games either.”

“A movie… sounds good.” The taller teenager said before suddenly remembering the flowers again. “Uh, those are for you by the way. I hope you like them?” Blake seemed surprised, but then she smiled. “They’re beautiful, Yang. Thank you so much.” She quickly left to get a glass with water so they would last longer, then put them right on her desk. Yang looked happy with the outcome of her little surprise. 

They eventually settled on watching a Spruce Willis movie and while Yang wasn’t a fan of too much action packed in a single 90min movie, she could appreciate a good plot. 

Yang hadn’t noticed at first, but in the beginning both of them had sat on opposite sides of Blake’s bed, but now, half-way in, they were leaning against each other. Blake’s head was nestled against Yang’s shoulder and whenever something exciting happened, the blonde could feel a gentle flick of one of Blake’s furry cat ears against her cheek. They were so soft that she could squeal!

Here in the Belladonna household Yang could feel like someone she hadn’t felt in a very long time. She could be a normal 19-year old teenager here, she could be herself. If only she could feel like this more often…

“I can hear you thinking.” Blake’s voice interrupted her uncontrolled stream of thoughts. Yang looked down and saw that the faunus was staring right back at her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Blake was so close right now that Yang could feel the shorter woman’s breath on her own skin. The movie was forgotten at that point. 

“What… were you thinking about?” Blake asked gently and Yang, who suddenly felt very nervous, gulped audibly. 

“Things.”

“What things?” The faunus didn’t let go of this. 

“Just… uh, that I’m happy to spend time here. Together with you. I feel warm and safe here, as if nobody in the entire world could ever hurt me, no matter how hard they try.” 

Blake was speechless, Yang’s voice had been so soft and gentle as if all she knew was a world of pain, yet there was a determination that showed that she’d never give up. But there was also tiredness. Maybe Yang had given up, but not completely yet. There was still time.

“Wow..” That was all Blake could say right now and even though it was quiet except for the movie still running in the background, it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. The shorter teenager just snuggled closer into Yang’s side, the blonde then hesitantly wrapped her arm around the other girl and just like the last time they had watched a movie together, both of them fell asleep. 

Later when Blake woke up again it was already getting dark outside. She stretched her sore limbs and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before looking at Yang. The tall blonde was still asleep and actually snoring softly. Blake’s ears twitched slightly at the sound and the faunus chuckled. “Hey, it’s time to wake up.” 

But Yang just grunted loudly and tried to turn around so she could sleep some more. “Come on Yang, I said wake up.” Blake tried again a bit louder and this time Yang seemed to listen.

“Whyyy…” The blonde teenager whined sleepily before slowly understanding that she was still in Blake’s room instead of some rundown hideout. “You’re mean for not letting me sleep…”

“I’m sorry, but I’m already smelling dinner. I hope you like Menagerie cuisine, my mom loves to cook all kinds of things from back home.” That was when Yang remembered that the Belladonnas were originally from Menagerie. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll like it. I like any kind of food as long as it didn’t come out of a dumpster!” Of course the teenager was mostly joking, but there was some truth behind her words. Dumpster food was just absolutely disgusting.

“Girls? Dinner is ready!” Before either of them could say something else Kali had already knocked on Blake’s door. “We’ll eat in the kitchen. Blake, your father won’t join us today, he’s still busy at the office talking about faunus rights with Ms. Hill. I think they made some progress and they don’t want to stop just yet.” 

“Come on.” Blake pulled Yang up from her bed before looking for her slippers. 

A few moments later in the kitchen Yang’s jaw almost met the floor after seeing just how much Kali ha cooked for the three of them. “Umm… are you also feeding a nearby army or what’s going on?” It smelled absolutely delicious and Yang spotted white rice, different kinds of steamed vegetables, fried and grilled fish and a few other things she didn’t know.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, just some steamed pumpkin.”

“Oh, I see. And not to be rude… but is that fish over there on that plate raw?”

When Yang asked that question with such an honest innocence, Kali actually laughed. “You never ate raw fish before? Back at Menagerie it’s very common to eat fish right after catching it!” She laughed even louder at the look of pure disgust on Yang’s face. 

“Don’t worry, mom only buys the best and freshest fish available!” Blake said and snatched a slice of fresh, raw tuna. “Mhm, absolutely delicious.” She cheekily smirked at Yang now as if to challenge her.

“Umm… I think I’ll pass on that if it’s okay?” Yang still looked a little bit disgusted and green in the face, though everything else looked and smelled great. Sure, she had never had steamed pumpkin before, but she remembered her father’s pumpkin soup and that one she had liked quite a lot. 

“Don’t worry, I also made grilled salmon, I hope that’s better?”

Yang smiled. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

Kali quickly filled a bowl with everything – well, everything but raw fish – for Yang and handed it over. “Don’t feel shy, just eat whatever you want and if you’re still hungry afterwards… well, as you can see we have plenty left. Not even my husband could eat all of this.” 

Yang nodded thankfully and sat down on a chair next to Blake. The younger cat faunus had boiled some water in the meantime to make some green tea. After Kali sat down as well the blonde dared to take her first bite. A piece of salmon that had been grilled on both sides after getting dipped in sauce. “Wow…” Yang hadn’t tasted anything like that in a long time, not even Maria’s potato dishes could keep up with this. “This is incredible!” The teenager immediately took another bite, and another and soon she was just scarfing down her entire bowl. “Not trying to sound weird, but this was the best meal I had in years!” If she had thought that the light dishes Kali had made for her while she had been sick were good… then oh brothers, then Yang had no words left to describe this.

“I’m glad you like it. Next time you come over I could make some noodle soup, I’m sure you’d like the sweet fried tofu that gets served as a topping.” 

Yang nodded and put her now empty bowl down. Her stomach was completely full now and she felt great. “Thanks again for having me, I always appreciate a good meal. If I can pay you back somehow, please let me now. Oh, I could do the dishes?”

“No no, you’re a guest here, Yang. Don’t worry about this and just have fun while you visit.” 

“Well, okay then.”  
They stayed together in the kitchen for a while and just chatted about the brothers and the world. Yang was not exactly up to date on pop culture or politics, but she enjoyed listening to Blake and how passionate she was about faunus rights movements. 

“So Yang, enough about this topic for now, tell us a bit about yourself?” Kali took a sip from her tea and watched as Yang became more nervous and restless.

“Myself? There is not much to tell…” She shrugged but Kali could be stubborn when she wanted to be. “Oh nonsense, everyone has a story. Where did you grow up?”

“Uh, the island of Patch.”

“Oh? So you’re an islander yourself.” The older faunus’ ears perked up at that. 

“Yeah, though I’m half Mistrali. Only my… father was from Patch originally. If I’m being honest then I haven’t seen the village where I grew up in a very long time now.” It had been years since Yang had left Patch to support her depressed father and younger sister.  
“My father is… a sad man and my mother a very… complicated woman.” She continued though she wasn’t sure how much she should and could say. “And my younger sister is the smartest girl I have ever met, the way she thinks about numbers and math is incredible. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets far in life one day.” Further than me at least, thought Yang without saying it out loud.  
“Well, I can believe that Raven Branwen is a very complicated woman.” Kali agreed and Yang’s eyes widened in shock. How could the older faunus be so calm about this? Raven Branwen was one of the most feared and wanted women alive, her bounty was insane and even the military was careful to avoid her. 

“Don’t look so shocked dear, you literally introduced yourself as Yang Branwen. Plus I’ve seen the wanted posters, you look exactly like a younger, blonde version of Raven herself.” Kali calmly took another sip of her tea while Blake looked almost as shocked as Yang now. “You’re also dressed like a Branwen Tribe member, when we found you, you were still wearing your red and black bandana. It doesn’t suit you if I might be honest.”

“Uh… yeah. Uh…” Yang wasn’t sure what to say, this woman sitting in front of her knew she was a member of the most dangerous gang in Vale and Mistral, possible even of all of Remnant, yet she wasn’t scared or wary of her.  
“You’re a Dust Runner.” Stated Kali in such a calm tone that it almost scared Yang. She wanted to run, to run as fast and far as possible. “But it’s not who you actually are. You’re not a Branwen, you don’t belong. It’s obvious.” 

The blonde teenager relaxed a little bit, though she was still tense and she felt slightly nauseous. “What I’m trying to say here is that I have seen teenagers like you all my life. Especially among faunus a lot of children and teenagers live their life as criminals simply because they didn’t have a choice. I won’t judge you, neither will my husband. We’re coming from humble backgrounds back in Menagerie, so I just want you to know that you will always be welcome here. And Blake… well I think Blake is rather smitten with you anyway.” She winked at her daughter who just blushed, but eventually Blake nodded with a roll of her eyes.

Yang felt her eyes getting wet and she quickly wiped all traces of tears away. No matter what Kali just said, she was a Branwen. And Branwen didn’t cry, Branwens were cold and emotionless. 

“Thank you…” Yet she couldn’t stop a single sob from escaping her suddenly very dry throat.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Yang was in trouble. A run had gone absolutely wrong; it couldn’t have gone worse even if she had actively tried to mess this up on purpose. 

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!” The blonde cursed while a bullet missed her far too closely for her comfort. Yang had been shot at before, but never like this. The city’s anti-dust-policies and zero tolerance laws were getting worse and both the police and the military were less likely to look the other way now.

“Get her! Go!”

But Yang was fast, she knew the alleys of this city better than the back of her hand! There was no way that they’d ever catch her under normal circumstances. She quickly climbed over an old, rusty metal fence and turned right and out of sight of the men following her. If she reached one of the hideouts she’d be safe and could rest. Only a few more meters left. 

“Finally!” She slipped through an unlocked backdoor of an old row house and closed it behind her. She held her breath and waited, but even after a few minutes nobody was busting through that very door and arresting her. 

She had managed to escape. Only then did Yang allow herself to take a deep breath and relax. “Fuck, that was close…” The blonde muttered and wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand.

She noticed a thin trail of blood on her wrist, apparently she had cut herself while climbing that fence. And she had scraped her left knee as well. Luckily nothing too bad, though she should probably clean both wounds just to be sure they wouldn’t get infected. 

At least this place had running water, so Yang quickly clean the cut and then wrapped her bandana around her wrist as a makeshift bandage. “This should do…” She muttered before taking a look at her knee. The pants were ripped and it was bleeding a little bit, but it wasn’t looking too bad either. She hated that the pants were ruined now though, just what she needed now when the weather was steadily getting colder. “Guess I was lucky they didn’t actually shoot me…” Yang sighed before sitting down on the floor. She should probably stay here for a bit just to be sure they weren’t still looking for her. 

She grabbed her backpack and looked for something to eat, good thing she had the habit of always carrying some energy bars with her in case something went wrong. They tasted awful, but they filled her stomach for a little bit. “This gonna be hard to explain…” Yang knew she was in trouble; she had lost two packs of gravity dust and one pack of fire dust without getting a single Lien. Someone had tipped off the military and they had waited for the deal to go through. “Vernal is gonna be after my ass for this… and Raven certainly won’t be happy either.”

Yang wasn’t sure why she was talking to herself, probably to drown out the suffocating silence. “Oh whatever…” She leaned her head against the wall and tried to sleep a little bit. 

When she woke up later it was already dark outside and rather cold. Yang shivered and got up from the dusty floor. She hoped it was safe to return to the main hideout now without almost getting killed by the Vale authorities. 

The streets were mostly empty except for a few homeless dust abusers. Yang felt sick, she was part of this problem, no matter how hard she tried not to think about this. But she couldn’t deal with this now, not when she soon needed to explain why the tribe lost a lot of money. 

“BRANWEN!” Yang winced when someone screamed her name right after she stepped through the door, though she tried to look cool and uninterested. Not showing any weakness was important; it ensured her survival in the tribe. 

“I’m not deaf, Vernal. I can hear you just fine.” She rolled her eyes at the older woman. 

“What’s that about the military stopping a dust deal?! Your failure is all over the news, you’re an embarrassment, they should have sho-“

“Vernal. Check on the others, I’ll take over.” Yang shivered and gulped nervously, she would recognize this voice anywhere. Vernal scoffed loudly, but obeyed. She was a boot licker as Yang liked to call her sometimes. 

“Raven.”

“Yang.”

This was… awkward. Raven rarely showed up to this hideout, mostly runners and other lower members slept here. The older woman circled around the blonde, her blood red eyes never leaving her daughter’s frame. 

“You failed today.”

“I did.”

Yang felt as if Raven’s eyes were looking straight into her soul, as if they could read her very thoughts and fears.

SMACK!!

The teenager gasped when Raven suddenly struck her cheek with her palm, but Yang didn’t dare to rub the smarting skin. She could almost feel it reddening. 

“You’re the future of this tribe, one day you will lead this tribe like so many Branwens have before me.” Raven started. “But you keep failing, you’re weak. You’re still just a runner, you don’t have it in you to climb the ranks. Your blood is Branwen, so act like it!”

Yang stared at the floor, her cheek was throbbing and burning now, she feared it would bruise. 

“I’m not being hard on you just because I enjoy seeing you suffer. I want to make you strong, I want you to be able to survive everything life throws at you. The weak… the weak only… lose themselves or die.” There was a tone in Raven's voice that was hard to recognize. 

Yang’s head snapped up, she knew what Raven meant. “How dare you…” The blonde was shaking with anger and frustration. “Leave Tai and Summer out of this!” Her eyes flashed red when she stared at her biological mother.

SMACK!!

Raven immediately struck her again and Yang lost her balance. “This is what I mean. Your anger controls you, your feelings control you. Feelings, friends, family,… all of this only leads to suffering an pain. Think about it.” The bandit leader turned around. “And just so you know, next time you mess up I won’t be this nice. You might be my daughter, but you also need to know your place.”

Yang kept sitting on the floor and held her throbbing cheek, she felt like crying. This woman would never be her mother. She understood that Raven had been hurt a lot in her life, that she had a terrible childhood and youth if she could trust her uncle Qrow’s stories… but some things just couldn’t be excused. Maybe one day Yang would be able to forgive Raven for the way she treated her, but right now the blonde was just angry and sad. Living in the tribe was... horrible and the longer she stayed, the less likely it was that she could leave one day. 

“I miss you, Blake…” Yet, even with all this talk about family all Yang could think about was Blake. The way the smaller faunus made her feel giddy and warm, and how her heart always beat faster when they touched.

Yang wanted to be closer to her, she wanted to be able to hold her and kiss her, to take her on silly dates and fantasize about a happy future together.

But Yang was a Branwen, as long as she was a member of the tribe there was no way that she could be happy with Blake, and right now her family back home on Patch still needed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's it, see you next time. Not sure if chapter 4 will be uploaded before my Snowbyrd One-Shot or after, but we'll see. Hope you enjoyed this and like always:  
> I appreciate constructive criticism =)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's it. The first chapter. I hope you liked it so far and if you did then feel free to leave a comment. 
> 
> As for the next chapter:  
> "Maybe it was just the fever, but Yang suddenly started to question everything she knew."


End file.
